Asia Cup Final Teams: Sportsrush presents before you the probable XI of the Indian cricket team for the final match of the Asia Cup.
Advertisement
First things first, do not expect to witness the surprises which you all had seen during India’s match against Afghanistan yesterday. Nor will Mahendra Singh Dhoni be leading the side once again. In a match which is the final of the Asia Cup, India will field a first XI against one out of Pakistan or Bangladesh.
With the match to be played on the day after tomorrow in Dubai, India would be looking to dominate the big match by continuing with their winning XI. A two-day rest means that the team should be well-prepared for the all-important encounter.
Below is India’s probable XI for Asia Cup final:
1. Top-Order – Despite Lokesh Rahul top-scoring for India yesterday, he is all in likeliness of being rested tomorrow, which means that regular openers in captain Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan will open the batting for India.
Given both these openers’ recent form, India should not be concerned with their batting, chiefly at the top of the order. Ambati Rayudu, who has scored 173 runs in five matches at an average of 57.66 and a strike rate of 81.99, would be hoping to provide solidity at No. 3, something which he has done throughout the tournament.
2. Middle-order – With the Asia Cup coming to an end, India are still not sure about who their No. 4 batsman will be. If the Indian team management shouldn’t worry about their top-order, they should about what follows for they might be in for serious trouble in the highly unlikely case of the top-order not firing.
Dinesh Karthik played the kind of innings that you would want from your No. 4 batsman to play. India should try to bat him at No. 4 ahead of Dhoni. Persisting with one name at No. 4 is likely to provide them will the surety regarding the concerned individual.
Post Dhoni, India’s lower middle-order will consist of Kedar Jadhav and Ravindra Jadeja. The trio would be looking to add some runs in front of their names for their performances with the bat haven’t been up to the mark till now.
3. Bowlers – After playing a triplet of rookie fast bowlers yesterday, India will shift back to the tried and tested combination of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav. Although few, but there have been occasions in this tourney when the Indian fast bowlers have helplessly gone for runs. The duo of Bhuvneshwar and Bumrah would be looking to sort things out on the day after tomorrow for they hold the key for the team in the slog overs.
Read some of the tweets which uploaded with respect to the Indian team after their tied encounter against Afghanistan yesterday:
A thriller #INDvsAFG.India & @msdhoni did not deserved to lose his 200th ODI as captain.But surely @ACBofficials team deserved to win. So what can be a better result than a TIE.This match is hardly fought. Truly competitive cricket #INDvsAFG #MSD200
— Mukesh Goyal (@007mukeshgoyal) September 25, 2018
Sir @imjadeja ending up in a nail biting tie match for the second time. Great effort though, both the times. And that makes @msdhoni captained odi team India resulting in the tie match for the 5th time. I guess it’s highest for any captian 🤔 #INDvAFG #AsiaCup2018
— Ashlesh (@Ashlesh8) September 25, 2018
Now looking at the Indian team, it is clear that Sid Kaul and Shardul Thakur aren’t India’s back up seamers for England. India need to get Shami and Yadav back in the ODI set up. Get Siraj in as well. Highly impressed with Khaleel #INDvAFG #AsiaCup2018 #AsiaCup
— Giri Subramanian (@giri26) September 25, 2018
